Hundreds evacuated as Spain's fire season starts early

Associated Press Reporters

Hundreds of people have been evacuated as a major forest fire rages in Spain’s eastern Castellon region, marking an early start to the nation’s fire season amid bone dry conditions.

Ximo Puig, the president of the Valencia region that incorporates Castellon, told reporters the fire had engulfed around 1,000 hectares of land since it broke out on Thursday, and was “very early in the spring, very voracious from the beginning”.

Emergency services in the region said 600 people in eight towns have been evacuated, including a home for older people in Montan.

 

Mr Puig said the effects of climate change “are undeniable, so the perspective of firefighting must be considered on an annual basis”.

As of early Friday, four helicopters and more than 600 firefighters and soldiers were tackling the fire, while the Spanish military deployed additional support to try to bring the blaze under control.

The state weather agency, AEMET, tweeted that “unfavourable weather conditions, especially considering the early date of the year, have favoured the (fire’s) rapid spread”.

Temperatures were above 25 degrees when the fire broke out, and relative humidity sank below 30% following an unusually dry winter in the area.

The risk of more fires in Castellon was classified as “extreme” on Friday.